From Julia · 2022-2023 · Reconstructed
Lobster Américaine
Serve when
Serve the moment the sauce, red with tomato and thick with reduced lobster stock, is spooned over the meat still warm in its shell.
In the series
Season 2
- S2E8 · ~00:44:00 In the season finale, Julia closes out the year's broadcasts with a lobster à l'américaine while an old wartime FBI complication finally surfaces
In the series
The season closes on the grandest dish of the run — a whole lobster built into a sauce rich enough to match the scale of everything catching up with Julia at once, from a real wartime secret to the uncertain future of the show that's made her a household name.
Ingredients
Method
- Cut the live lobsters into sections — tail, claws, and body — reserving the shells and any tomalley.
- Sear the lobster pieces in the olive oil over high heat until the shells turn bright red, then remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté the shallot and garlic, then return the shells and any trimmings.
- Carefully add the cognac and flame it off, then add the wine, tomatoes, stock, and tomato paste. Simmer for 20 minutes to build the sauce.
- Strain the sauce, pressing hard on the solids, and return it to the pan with the butter and tarragon.
- Return the lobster tail and claw meat (removed from the shell) to the sauce and simmer gently just until cooked through — opaque all the way to the center — about 5 minutes.
- Finish with parsley and serve over the meat, still in the shell halves if you like the presentation.
Substitutions
- Cognac flambé: if you'd rather skip the open flame, simmer the cognac in for a minute instead of igniting it — the alcohol still cooks off.
- Live lobster: a fishmonger will steam and break down the lobster for you if you're not comfortable doing it live at home.
Beyond the recipe
Go deeper
Watch & shop
As an affiliate, FlixNFood may earn from qualifying purchases.